


the last witness before the wave hits

by velvetjinx



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - No Powers, American Sign Language, Anal Sex, Bottom Steve Rogers, Bullying, Falling In Love, Fish dick, Fluff, Implied Switching, Light Angst, M/M, Muteness, Mutual Masturbation, Oral Sex, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Royalty, Secret Identity, Semi-Public Sex, Sirens, Top Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:08:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26378584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetjinx/pseuds/velvetjinx
Summary: Bucky is a siren who loves humans. Enter one Steve Rogers, who makes Bucky believe that maybe a human can love him back.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 5
Kudos: 147





	the last witness before the wave hits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stereolights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stereolights/gifts).



> SO stereolights tweeted about how siren Bucky lives rent free in their head and how he would think that Steve is really good and then discover not all humans are good and be like “I have to get you out of here” and, well, that was all it took.
> 
> Elements of The Shape of Water and a reverse Little Mermaid in here.
> 
> Also the fic’s working title was “fish dick”.
> 
> Title from Hozier’s song Talk.

The thing about being a siren was that, ultimately, there was only so much waiting around on rocks you could do before it became very boring. Not to mention the fact that ships were different now. No longer the large rigged ships of yore. Now they all had big, noisy engines and hardly anyone on deck, meaning it was harder to lure anyone. 

Bucky sighed as he ran his hand through the surface of the water, watching the ripples fan out across the sea. He just wanted to sing for humans, and lure them in so he could seduce them. Humans were ridiculously attractive—so different, with their legs instead of a long, scaled tail. And the clothes that they wore over their skin—that was something that confused Bucky greatly. Although he supposed that, unlike Bucky, without them the humans’ genitals would be visible all the time. 

Bucky was rather fond of human genitals. 

The men he had lured in the past had genitals similar to his own, although a different texture of course. And unlike his, they weren’t quite as stiff when erect. He had experience with humans, but it was always fleeting, and never reciprocated. They would spend themselves—over his fist or down his throat—then awkwardly, fumbling, leave him alone. 

It just wasn’t fair. 

He dived from the rock on which he had been sunning himself and swam around the coastline to another rocky outcrop, to see if he’d have better luck. As he approached, he noticed something washing against them. A pile of human clothing, perhaps. As he drew nearer, however, he realized it was a human, clinging for dear life to the side of the rock as the waves swirled around him. As Bucky neared, the human was washed off by a particularly strong wave, and went under. 

Bucky lost no time. 

He dived immediately under the waves, spotting the human sinking down into the depths. He swam as fast as his tail would take him and, reaching the human, wrapped his arms around their waist and headed straight for the surface. 

The human was surprisingly heavy considering their size, and Bucky wondered just how much of the weight was the wet clothing. He briefly considered stripping the human to make it easier to swim with them to shore, but thought the better of it. Humans could be strangely bashful about their forms. 

It wasn’t too far to the shore, and soon Bucky was pulling the human up onto the beach. It was a young man, he could see now; short and slight, but definitely a man. He was beautiful, with blond hair and fine features. Bucky felt a pang in his chest, watching him. 

He didn’t seem to be breathing, and blood was oozing from a wound on his leg. 

Bucky frowned, and pressed gently on the man’s thin chest, then shook him a little. The man immediately began to cough, sea water bubbling out from between his lips as he turned onto his side. 

“Are you alright?” Bucky asked softly. The man gazed up at him in wonder, opening his mouth in awe, but suddenly the sound of other voices reached them from down the beach. Bucky, startled, turned and dived back into the water, swimming away as fast as he could. 

***

Bucky couldn’t stop thinking about the man he had rescued. It had been a few days now, and he just couldn’t get the man out of his mind. 

He sat up from where he had been sunning himself on a rock and dived into the water, swimming determinedly to the rocks near the shore where he had left the man. Peeking over the top, he noticed two figures sitting on the shore, and as he peered at them he realized that one of them was the man he had rescued. He was staring out at the water longingly while his companion spoke animatedly to him. Occasionally the man would nod or shake his head, or make signs with his hands, but he never spoke. 

Bucky wondered why. 

He craned his neck up to get a better look, only to lock eyes with the man as he scanned the water. 

_Oh no_. 

He turned in a panic, ready to dive back into the water, when he heard splashing and shouting. Looking back, he saw the man running into the water, fully clothed, toward Bucky while his companion yelled at him from the shore. Bucky’s eyes widened as the man got into the deeper water, struggling to swim further out. Bucky jumped into the sea and swam straight for the man, dragging him to the rocks and pulling him up into them. 

“How many times am I going to have to save you from drowning?” Bucky grumbled, though there was no heat to it. The man beamed up at Bucky, hair plastered wetly to his head, blue eyes shining. He really was beautiful. Bucky cleared his throat. “So, uh. I’m guessing you wanted to talk to me?”

The man frowned, gesturing to his throat and shaking his head. 

“You can’t speak?”

The man shook his head. 

“Then how am I going to find out your name?”

“ _Steve_!” the man’s companion, still on the shore, yelled across to them. “ _Steve, if you get pneumonia and die I’m gonna bring you back to life just so I can kill you again for being so stupid_!”

The man—Steve—rolled his eyes, smirking up at Bucky and waving dismissively toward the shore. 

“Your name is Steve?” Bucky asked, slightly breathlessly. Steve nodded shyly, a deep flush on his pale cheeks. “I’m Bucky. I’m, uh. I’m a siren.”

Steve looked alarmed, suddenly, scrambling backwards on the rock and nearly falling back into the sea. Bucky caught hold of his sleeve just in time. 

“Wait! What… Why are you scared, suddenly?” he asked. 

Steve frowned, frustrated, and pointed at Bucky, then mimed dragging someone down before pointing to the water. 

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “You think I’m gonna drag you down into the sea?” Steve nodded. “Then why would I have saved you—twice now—you stupid punk?”

Steve cocked his head to the side, then his expression turned sheepish and he shrugged. 

“Is that… is that what humans say about sirens?” Bucky asked slowly. Steve nodded again. “Oh.” That gave Bucky a moment’s pause. “So what did you think I was?”

Steve began to make signs with his hands, then sighed, irritated, blowing at a wet clump of hair which had fallen over his eye. He glanced back at the shore, where his companion was still sitting on a large rock on the beach, than back at Bucky. He pointed at the shore, then made a swimming motion with his hand. 

“You want to go back to shore?” Bucky asked, unable to hide his disappointment. Steve shook his head, and pulled on Bucky’s arm, and it suddenly dawned on Bucky what Steve meant. “You want me to come to shore with you?” Steve nodded, smiling. “Well, okay,” Bucky agreed. 

Steve’s answering smile was nearly blinding. 

Bucky helped Steve get back to the shore, where Steve sat shivering under the summer sun in his wet clothes while his companion fussed around him. Bucky pulled himself up onto a rock and frowned. 

“You should take some of those wet clothes off if they’re making you cold,” he chided Steve, who nodded, stripping out of his shirt, although he left on his trousers. 

Steve’s companion sighed, taking off his sweater and handing it to Steve. “Here, put this on. Idiot.” His tone was fond, though, and Steve took the sweater from him, sheepishly pulling it on. The man held his hand out to Bucky. “I’m Sam. My main purpose in life seems to be to keep this one out of trouble.”

Bucky laughed, mostly at Steve’s indignant look. “I’m Bucky. Pleased to meet you.” He shook Sam’s hand. 

“So you’re a merman, huh?”

Bucky shrugged. “Nah. A siren. Don’t worry,” he said off of Sam’s alarmed look. “We don’t drown people, which is what Steve seemed to think.”

“Oh. It’s just that… that’s what people think.”

“Nope. It’s not our fault if we’re so irresistible to humans that they’d drive their ships into rocks to get to us. Doesn’t happen so much now, of course.” He stretched his arms above his head, noticing when Steve eyed his chest then blushed. 

Interesting. 

“So, uh, Steve,” Bucky began, “how did you…” He gestured to his throat, and Steve looked at him, puzzled, for a moment before grinning. He poked Sam on the side and gestured to Sam. 

Sam sighed. “He’s never been able to talk. He was found on the shore, with marks on his neck like someone had slit gills into him.” Steve moved his head around, showing three, long parallel scars on each side of his neck. “They’ve healed up now, but he’s never been able to speak. So he signs.”

Steve clicked his fingers until Sam looked over at him, then signed something quickly, his movements tight and agitated. 

Sam rolled his eyes. “He wants to know if you want to meet here tomorrow. We’ve gotta get back—we share a house about half a mile from the shore—but he says he’d like to see you again.”

Sam looked back at Steve, who signed again, his movements this time looser and almost shy. 

“He also wants to say thank you for saving him twice now. He’d been out in a rowboat on his own and a wave had crashed it against those rocks you found him at. He’d started to lose hope when you found him.”

“It was my pleasure,” Bucky told Steve, who flushed bright red. 

Steve held his right hand straight up to his lips, then brought it down with a smile, a sign Bucky had noticed him making previously, before bending the hand at the big knuckles and arcing it to place his fingertips on the palm of his other hand. When Bucky looked at Sam questioningly, Sam grinned, signing slowly as he spoke. 

“Thank you… again.”

Bucky nodded, suddenly feeling a little shy. “I’d better go. My scales are starting to feel a little dry. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

He waved at Steve and Sam, who waved back, then jumped into the water, just deep enough next to the rock for him to swim away. 

He took a deep breath through his gills, grinning. 

His name was _Steve._

***

The following day, Bucky was at the rock out in the bay by sunrise, unsure when Steve would turn up but unwilling to miss him. 

He waited there for a few hours, alternately sunning himself and swimming around the bay. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, he saw a figure approaching the beach. Grinning, Bucky swam to the shore, meeting Steve as he reached the rocks they’d been sitting on before. 

Steve waved, and Bucky waved back. 

“Hey, Steve.” He pulled himself up to sit on the rock, and Steve sat beside him. “No Sam today?”

Steve shook his head, and mimed picking things up and moving them. 

“He’s working?” Bucky guessed, and Steve nodded, blowing stray hairs from his forehead. “So it’s just us.”

Steve nodded again, ducking his head shyly. 

“Do you work?” Steve wrinkled his nose as he nodded once more. “What do you do?”

Steve moved his hand in a wiping motion over the rock. 

“You… clean?” Bucky asked, and Steve smiled, nodding vigorously. “Is that a good job?”

Steve shrugged, making a so-so gesture. 

“That’s one thing about being a siren,” Bucky said with a laugh. “You don’t need to work. You can just swim all day.”

Steve looked wistfully at the sea and sighed. 

“So this beach is pretty quiet,” Bucky said. 

Steve laughed silently, shaking his head, then mimed fanning himself and gestured toward the rest of the beach. 

“It’s busy… when it’s hot?” Bucky said slowly. Steve nodded, grinning. “In summer?” Steve nodded again. 

It was at least a month from the start of summer, and Bucky was glad they’d have more time, just the two of them. 

“So what were you doing out in a rowboat all by yourself?” Bucky asked, and Steve shrugged, blushing. “Oh, I get it. You’re trouble, aren’t you?”

Steve rolled his eyes, pointing to his ears and signed something slowly. 

Bucky frowned. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m sorry.”

Steve looked thoughtful, before miming a tall person, then pointing back toward the city. 

Bucky thought for a moment then grinned. “Sam?” Steve nodded vigorously, then pointed to his ears again. Suddenly Bucky got it and laughed. “You think I’ve been listening to Sam!”

Steve laughed silently again, clapping his hands gleefully. 

“Well, did you ever think that maybe if both of us are saying it then we’re right?” Steve shook his head at that. “Hmm. Well I guess we’ll just wait and see.”

***

When they made their goodbyes, Steve indicated that he wouldn’t be back at the beach until the following evening. And so, the next day as it was nearing sundown Bucky swam to the shore, where Steve and Sam were already waiting. 

“Never thought I’d be spending this much time on Kingsborough Beach when it wasn’t even summer,” Sam groused in lieu of a hello. 

Steve punched him lightly on the arm.

Bucky was a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to be alone with Steve again, until Sam explained that he was there as interpreter, and to teach Bucky some of the basics of ASL. That made Bucky almost deliriously happy—that Steve wanted so much to spend time with him that he was making sure they could communicate. 

As the days passed, and Bucky learned more of Steve’s language, Sam began to show up less and less. Bucky enjoyed Sam’s company, but he relished the time alone with Steve. 

Bucky knew that he was ridiculously close to falling headfirst in heels in love with a human. 

Then, one evening, when he reached the shore, Steve was sitting with what looked like a pile of fishing nets on his lap. As Bucky neared, he realized there was a gull caught in it. Angry tears shone on Steve’s cheeks as he worked the netting from around the bird, until finally it flipped free with a squawk and flew off to the horizon. 

Steve threw down the net and signed angrily to Bucky, “ _Damn people_.”

“It would have been an accident,” Bucky replied soothingly. 

Steve frowned, signing his first two fingers in a v as though scratching his face twice. “ _Doubt._ ”

But if Bucky had learned anything from his time with Steve, it was that humans were good. Sam was good too, make no doubt about it. His care for his friend shone through. Bucky was aware that it was a small number of humans to base a judgment on, but still. 

“It’s a shame the water isn’t warm enough for you to swim with me,” Bucky said wistfully. 

Steve’s response was to strip out of most of his clothing and his shoes, leaving only a pair of underwear on. He grinned at Bucky, then ran into the sea. 

Rolling his eyes, Bucky dived in after him. Steve was shivering a little when Bucky reached him, but his eyes were bright and he was laughing. 

Bucky couldn’t help himself. He cupped Steve’s cheek in his hand, his expression a question. Steve replied by leaning in and pressing their lips together. 

Steve’s lips were soft, and surprisingly warm. Bucky pulled Steve closer, deepening the kiss, unable to resist him. But they were in waters too deep for Steve to touch the ground, and he was struggling to keep his head above water, so they swam over to the rocks out in the bay. Steve sat on a ledge just below the water, and Bucky could see that his cock was half hard. 

Steve blushed when he realized what Bucky was looking at, but Bucky didn’t let him overthink it, drawing him in for another kiss as he rubbed his hand against the front of Steve’s underwear. Steve gave a silent gasp, and patted the ledge beside him. 

Getting the message, Bucky pulled himself up to sit next to Steve, his own cock hardening at the sight of Steve’s kiss-swollen lips. Steve’s eyes widened as the scales on Bucky’s tail parted, allowing his cock to poke through. Then Steve’s hand was on him, and all coherent thought momentarily left his head. Steve’s grip was perfect, jerking him just right, and he groaned before pulling down Steve’s briefs. 

His cock was gorgeous. Bigger than Bucky would have expected, given Steve’s small stature, and perfectly formed—for a human. He reached down to cup his balls, running his fingers over them as Steve shivered, then began to stroke him. Steve gasped, then lurched forward, kissing him again. 

They kissed until they couldn’t any more, until their mounting pleasure meant that they were simply panting into each other’s mouths. Bucky spilled first, his pleasure cresting with an intensity that took him by surprise. 

“Gods, Steve…” Bucky managed, before slipping down into the water and taking Steve’s cock into his mouth. Steve’s hands clenched into fists, his mouth open as he looked down at Bucky with pleasure-heavy eyes. His left hand found its way into Bucky’s hair, tightening in warning. Bucky continued to suck until Steve’s cock pulsed, coming in thick spurts down Bucky’s throat, then pulled back, lapping up the remaining drops on the sensitive head until Steve squirmed. 

Bucky hauled himself back up onto the ledge, and Steve immediately dragged him into a deep kiss. 

“Gods, Steve. Wanted to do that pretty much since I met you.”

Steve smiled softly, making a fist and sticking up his thumb and little fingers before gesturing between them. “ _Me too_.”

They sat together on the rock for a few moments in the weak heat of the sun, before Steve began to shiver. 

Bucky kissed him again. “Come on. We’d better get you warm again.” Steve waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. “No, not like that.”

Steve smirked, but followed Bucky back into the water, and together they swam back to the shore. 

***

The following evening at dusk Steve returned to the shore, immediately stripping to his briefs and swimming out to meet Bucky at the rocks. They sat on the ledge together, immediately leaning in for a deep kiss. 

“Hi,” Bucky said breathlessly. 

Steve gave him a quick side to side wave. “ _Hi._ ”

“Yesterday was amazing,” Bucky said quietly. “ _You’re_ amazing.”

Steve blushed and shook his head. 

“You are. You’re so good and kind, and you’re. Well, I like you a lot.”

“ _Me too_ ,” Steve signed, ducking his head shyly. 

“So, uh. What do you want to do today?”

Steve got that glint in his eyes that Bucky has come to recognize meant shenanigans. Before he could say anything, Steve had stripped out of his briefs, placing them behind him on top of the rocks, and began idly stroking himself to hardness. The sight of Steve touching himself like that made the blood pound in Bucky’s ears, and soon his own hard cock slid out from between the folds of his scales. 

Steve took hold of Bucky’s hand, drawing it over his hip and round to his ass, then between the crack to press against his hole in an obvious invitation. Bucky pressed a finger inside, to find him slick. 

Steve crossed the first two fingers on both hands, holding them out to one side, before sweeping them across to his other side. “ _I’m ready_.”

“You mean you prepared for this?” Bucky was amazed, even as Steve nodded, blushing. “This will probably be easier with you in the water, leaning against the rock.”

Steve shook his head, holding his hands up, flat, seven inches away from each other. “ _Face to face_.”

Bucky’s expression softened. “Yeah. I’d rather see you too.”

He helped Steve get off the ledge into the water, and Steve wrapped his arms and legs around Bucky while Bucky steadied them against the rock with his left hand. With the other hand he guided his cock to Steve’s hole, and slowly began to press inside. 

Gods, he was tight and hot inside. 

Steve tilted his head back against the rock, mouth open on a silent moan as his hands gripped Bucky’s shoulders. Bucky’s right arm immediately wrapped around Steve’s waist, holding him up. By the time Bucky’s cock was fully inside, Steve was panting, and a look of bliss crept over his features. 

Steve looked up at him, blue eyes wide. 

“You okay?” Bucky asked. 

Steve nodded, unhooking his arms from around Bucky’s neck. He crooked the first finger of both hands, the rest of his fingers in a fist, and moved them wide apart. “ _Big_.”

Bucky blushed. “You like that?”

Steve nodded, grinning. “ _Move_ ,” he signed, and Bucky nodded, thrusting slow and deep. 

Steve bit his lush lower lip, a flush creeping down from his face to his thin chest. Bucky couldn't resist; he leaned in, kissing Steve deeply. The waves moved them as Bucky thrust deep inside Steve, rolling his hips and dragging silent gasps from him. Steve was beautiful like this, writhing on his cock, and although Bucky wanted it to last he knew that he wouldn’t. 

“Want you to touch yourself for me,” Bucky murmured, and Steve nodded, bringing his hand down to stroke his own cock under the surface of the water. He began to speed up his thrusts, and Steve’s mouth fell open as he panted heavily. 

Bucky could feel his orgasm building, and bit gently at Steve’s collarbone. “Fuck, gods, Steve, you’re going to make me come so hard,” he groaned out. 

Steve nodded, his movements becoming more erratic until his eyes shut, biting down on his lip so hard he almost drew blood, muscles pulsing around Bucky’s cock as he came. He was beautiful. Bucky continued to thrust, getting closer and closer until, “Steve!”, falling over the edge with a cry. 

Steve’s mouth found Bucky’s and they kissed gently until Steve began to shiver. Bucky drew his cock out of Steve carefully, feeling it retract as it softened, and grabbed Steve’s underwear from the top of the rock. Steve slipped it back on with a grin, and together they swam to shore. 

***

The summer sun filtered through the water as Bucky swam to the surface. The beaches had been busier now for a few weeks, even in the evenings, but Steve still swam out to ‘their’ rocks to meet him. 

Their relationship had grown and deepened, and Bucky could no longer deny how much he loved Steve. He loved him for his goodness and his spirit above all other things, but the fact he was the most beautiful human that Bucky had ever met certainly didn’t hurt. 

Bucky had discovered that Steve had lived in Brooklyn his whole life; that his mother had passed away a few years ago; that Sam was his only friend. It made Bucky sad that Steve had such a hard life, when he deserved so much more. 

Bucky broke through the surface of the water by the rocks, shaking his long, wet hair out of his face. He looked over to the crowded beach, and saw Steve walking down to the shore. Bucky smiled, but the smile left his face immediately when he saw another human—a foot taller than Steve and almost twice as wide—push Steve down while his friends around him pointed and laughed. Steve got up, and the man pushed him down again. 

Bucky saw red, and called to a flock of gulls who were passing overhead. They immediately did as he asked, diving down onto the heads of the man and his companions until they left the beach, yelling loudly. 

Steve stood, brushing the sand from his clothes. Bucky immediately swam halfway to shore, until Steve spotted him. Steve looked at him for a moment, before putting his head down, turning on his heel, and leaving the beach. Bucky almost called after him, but didn’t want to draw more attention to himself than necessary. His heart thumping painfully in his chest, he dived back under the waves. 

***

The following evening, the sun was setting over the horizon when Steve pulled himself up on the rocks next to Bucky. Steve made a fist, rubbing it in a circle round his chest. “ _Sorry_.”

Bucky shrugged. “What are you sorry _for_?”

Steve’s face fell even further, and he began to sign slowly. “ _Sorry I left. Sorry I hurt you._ ”

“Steve…” Bucky exhaled heavily. “Those humans… why did they do that?”

“ _Jerk_ ,” Steve signed. 

“Yeah, but… why would he be like that to you? I’ve never seen a human be so mean before.”

Steve frowned. “ _Humans,_ ” he signed after a moment. 

“You’re telling me that most humans are like that?” Bucky asked, aghast. 

Steve nodded, shrugging. 

“Steve. Steve, that’s awful!” Bucky exclaimed. “You can’t live around people who treat you like that! You can’t live around _humans_ like that!” 

Steve shrugged again. “ _No choice_.”

“You fucking do,” Bucky told him angrily. “I’m gonna talk to my friend Natasha. She’s a… well, a witch?” He paused. “Steve… you wanna come live with me? In the sea?”

Steve’s eyes widened. He brought his index finger to his mouth, then clasped it back down as he moved his hand toward Bucky, sticking his thumb and little fingers out. “ _Really_?”

“Yeah. Only if you want to, but if you do, I can ask Natasha.”

Steve threw himself at Bucky, wrapping him in a hug and almost toppling them off the rock. He pulled back, wiping tears from his eyes, then brought his flat hand up to his mouth before lowering it toward Bucky. “ _Thank you_.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Bucky said, laughing as he leaned in to press a kiss to Steve’s lips. “I still have to talk to Natasha.”

***

Natasha was more amused by Bucky’s story than anything. “You? Fell in love with a human? Say it ain’t so.” Her voice was practically dripping with sarcasm, but Bucky chose to ignore it. 

“Please, Natasha,” he pleaded. 

Natasha sighed. “Fine. Take me to him.”

There were a million ways that Bucky could have imagined Natasha reacting to meeting Steve. This was not one of them. 

Natasha stared at Steve for a long moment, looking more shocked than he had ever seen her. 

“You… you’ve always been human?” she asked Steve, who nodded slowly. “It’s just that, well, you look pretty much exactly like Poseidon.”

Bucky snorted. “Natasha, don’t be ridiculous.”

“You told me he was found by the shore, right? With things that looked like gills?” Steve’s hand went immediately to his throat. “Twenty three years ago Poseidon’s baby son went missing, before they’d even had a chance to name him. No one ever knew what happened to him, although it was suspected that a servant of the Hydra, herself a witch, stole him. It couldn’t be proven, though. I think… Bucky, I think Steve is him.”

“What does that mean?” Bucky asked, his mouth suddenly dry. 

“It means it should be way easier to change him back.” She turned to Steve. “You said your goodbyes to everyone?”

Steve nodded, looking a little sad, and Bucky knew he was thinking of Sam. But Bucky knew they’d be back to visit, and he gave Steve’s arm a squeeze.

Steve stripped off at Natasha’s instruction, and stood there, naked and blushing. 

Natasha waved her arms, chanting in the ancient language of the sea, and Steve fell to his knees, coughing. He was surrounded by sparks of light, too bright for Bucky to look at directly, and when they dimmed…

Steve was a siren. 

Bucky helped Steve into the water, allowing him to breathe through his gills for the first time. He was so joyous as he swam around that Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. 

“ _Thank you_ ,” Steve signed to Natasha, who smiled when Bucky translated. 

“You’re welcome. Now, come on. Let’s get you home.”

***

There was an entire week of feasting when Steve was returned to his home, but he never allowed Bucky to leave his side. 

The first night, as they settled in Steve’s royal bedchamber, Steve smiled at Bucky. He pointed to himself, then made two fists, crossing his arms over his chest, before pointing to Bucky. “ _I love you._ ”

Bucky felt as though his heart had swollen to double its size. “I love you too, Steve.” They kissed deeply, as Bucky tried to pour every ounce of feeling into their kisses. He drew back, grinning. “Now what do you say we take that new cock of yours for a test drive?”

Steve’s delighted expression was everything that Bucky could have wished for. 

He couldn’t have been happier. 


End file.
